Say it again
by ammstar11
Summary: Soulmate AU where the first words that your soulmate speaks to you are written on your skin like a tattoo. Based on the time the first thing I said to a new girl at work was "I love you" because I heard her tell another co-worker that she had just killed a wasp, and I am beyond terrified of and possibly allergic to them.
1. Chapter 1

**Say it again**

 **Soulmate AU where the first words that your soulmate speaks to you are written on your skin like a tattoo. Based on the time the first thing I said to a new girl at work was "I love you" because I heard her tell another co-worker that she had just killed a wasp, and I am beyond terrified of and possibly allergic to them.**

 **Chapter 1**

Everyone knows how this works, you are born with a mark, a message written on your body, this message is the first words that your soulmate will say to you when you meet. There are many things that a person can say upon meeting another for the first time but there is no doubt that the words have been spoken by your soulmate because they will shimmer when spoken.

It's hard to imagine that for some people it could be as simple as **_Hello_** or **_I'm sorry_** while others hear something related to what is happening in that instant. There are many things that a person could say when they first meet another, but Nico di Angelo has spent the majority of his time since the day he learned to read, staring down at his mark and reading it over and over. Sure most people do this, but Nico is not quite like most people, you see his mark reads **_I love you_**.

…

Nico was in his final year of high school and was one of the few in his group of friends that hadn't yet found their soulmate. Of course it can happen at any point in life, but with the majority of his friends already being paired up with theirs he felt a part from them, like he was somehow intruding on their time together. They had told him time and again that it wasn't anything like that and they had even tried to help him figure out the mystery behind the words on his inner wrist.

"Maybe they're a hopeless romantic that falls for you at first glance." Hazel had said one day trying to make him feel better after a particularly stressful day that had left him sitting huddled on the couch in their living room absently tracing the letters as he normally did. She had come into the living room and sat down next to him and had noticed his index finger following the lines of the letters of those three words.

"Maybe if they were drunk. What kind of an idiot just goes up to a person that they have never met or spoken to before and says _I love you_? What kind of situation would that even be? I swear I just had to have the dumbest thing as my mark." Nico said as he glared at the words scrawled there. Hazel knew that those three words held a great deal of meaning to Nico, not just because of the mark but because of all that he has loved and lost in his life.

His mother had died when he was very young and she had been the one to teach him the meaning behind the words, then when he was ten their older sister Bianca had also died, the last thing that she had said to him had been those same three words, furthermore their father since losing his wife and daughter had cut himself off from his remaining children and remained distant, neither of them expected to hear those words coming from him any time soon. Hazel herself understood how Nico felt about that simple phrase and did everything that she could to let him know it without having to utter those words herself.

"You never know, there's still time left in the school year, what if it was something like a reading lines for a play or something?" She wanted to be helpful, but she knew that she was just scraping the bottom of the barrel now trying to come up with some kind of plausible situation for her brother.

"Thanks for trying; I don't really care right now. I think I'll just go to bed for now, I need to get up early for work tomorrow." Nico leaned over and placed a kiss on Hazel's cheek before getting up from the couch. "Good night, and don't stay up too late talking to Frank okay?" He smirked at her knowing that she had a bad habit of spending most of the night on weekends talking to her boyfriend/soulmate over the phone. Nico liked Frank and was glad that his sister had such a sweet and caring guy to love her, though he did have fun teasing them both, but hey, what were brothers for?

Hazel laughed. "No promises, good night." Nico shook his head as he headed for the stairs.

 **This was going to be a one shot but then I decided against that so here's the first bit.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Will solace was excited to be starting his first day at his new job, he needed to start saving money and though his parents had promised to help him when he needed, he still preferred to make his own way in the world. Sure working part time as a cashier and server on evenings and weekends while finishing high school was nothing special to most, but to Will it was a chance to do something for himself.

The weather had been beautiful lately, bright and sunny and warm. On the downside though the bugs were out and that meant that Will's most hated creature was among them. Ever since he was a small child Will had been afraid of wasps because some local kids had thought that it would be funny to agitate the insects and disturb their nest, unfortunately for Will he had been the nearest to that nest and was the prime recipient of the wasps wrath. He had swollen up badly where they had bit him and he had been in a lot of pain. Now if he so much as saw one he would start to panic.

Will was glad to have a job indoors where he wouldn't have to worry so much about those dreaded insects. For now he sat in the staff break room staring at the mark on his wrist. He found it interesting that his seemed to be in the form of a question. **_You're welcome?_** It wasn't so odd to have punctuation as part of one's mark but Will wondered what kind of situation would bring about that sentence to be asked like that.

The alarm on Will's phone went off signaling that it was time to begin his shift so he turned off his phone and put it away in his locker.

…

"So as you can see, things are pretty slow right now since it's still early in the afternoon but things should be picking once rush hour hits." Percy was telling him as he helped him get settled into his first day of work. "Then things can get a bit crazy but I'm sure you'll do fine."

Percy had been right; he only got a few customers here and there so to pass the time Percy had him go and clean off tables and sweep the floor. Will didn't particularly mind, he kind of just built a rhythm for himself as he hummed while he worked. Everything had been going fine until a large group walked in at once and he needed to get back to taking orders. "Hi welcome to Sally's, what can I get for you today?" Will said with a friendly smile as he greeted people and took their orders. That hadn't been the problem though, the problem had been when some of the stragglers had decided to stand in the doorway before even making up their minds if they wanted to actually come into the diner or not.

Will had been watching the door nervously almost the entire time sending out silent prayers that one of those things wouldn't grace him with its dreaded presence; he was distracted from his vigilance though when he was called over to a table to refill coffee for a table. As Will went to go brew another pot he forgot about the door hanging open and instead focused on the way Percy had taught him to make the coffee.

Will's mind came to a screeching halt when he picked up on the sound of buzzing by his ear, his heart beat like a jackrabbit as it hammered away in his chest. With his heart in his throat he glanced around looking for it and then there it was landing on the counter in front of him. Will jumped and jerked his hand away as the wasp grew closer to him and he ended up knocking a container of cutlery off of the counter but he was too freaked out to take much notice of it.

All of the sudden there was someone next to him and they smacked something down on the counter and crushed the bug from hell in one swift motion. Will immediately turned to the person next to him and heard the guy mutter something about annoying bugs. Without thinking Will grabbed those wonderful hands in his own and he said the first thing he could without really thinking.

"I love you." Will said with an intensity that expressed how grateful he was as he grasped the other boy's hands in his own and looked him straight in the eye. The other boy stared back at him in confusion. "You're welcome?" suddenly both boy's eyes widen and they look down at their wrists to see them shimmering with a golden light. They looked back at one another.

Now that Will was actually looking, this guy was HOT! He must have worked in the kitchen because clearly he worked there but Will hadn't seen him until now. He had longish ebony hair and large dark eyes that looked like obsidian; he had an olive complexion and stood just a little shorter than Will.

Will didn't know what else to do so he just sort of let their hands drop between them as he tried to come up with an explanation for that sudden statement. "I uh, I'm terrified of wasps and bees, I may well be highly allergic to them and ever since being stung by an entire nest of them I always have a panic attack when they're near me…" he said with a sheepish grin not sure if he should meet the other's eyes now or not, though now that it's been established that this person is his soulmate he's suddenly even more nervous and embarrassed.

…

Nico had just finished his shift and had gone to clock out when he saw a new guy standing by the coffee pot just suddenly freeze like time had stopped or something. Then out of nowhere he jumped and ended up knocking cutlery onto the floor and had a really freaked out look on his face, Nico saw the bug on the counter and grabbed a menu and the next thing he knew he was standing next to the poor guy and smashing the menu down as fast as he could, killing the wasp. "Stupid bugs always finding their way in here…" Nico muttered to himself as he set the menu aside.

Out of nowhere the new guy had grabbed Nico's hands in his own and before Nico could say anything about his no touching policy he was looking into a pair of sky blue eyes and his mind kind of just came to a stop. "I love you." The blond before him said and Nico, not really being able to think at the moment tries to say anything in response. "You're welcome?" It came out as a question because he wasn't really sure how to respond to something like that, but then his brain kicked in again and at that moment both boy's eyes went wide as they glanced down at their wrists and there it was, those same words scrawled on their skin, shimmering with a golden light.

Nico looked back at the blond and looked more closely at him, he had shaggy blond hair, blue eyes that could rival a clear afternoon sky, and freckles dusting his tan face that stood out a little thanks to the blush that had exploded across his cheeks that no doubt matched Nico's own.

"I uh, I'm terrified of wasps and bees, I may well be highly allergic to them and ever since being stung by an entire nest of them I always have a panic attack when they're near me…" he said with a sheepish grin that looked way too adorable on him. How could this possible be his soulmate Nico wondered as he looked at the guy. "It's okay, that's understandable." Nico said and then mentally kicked himself for not being able to come up with something better to say.

"I'm Will, Will Solace, I just started working here today." Will said as he extended a hand out to Nico, apparently also not really sure what to do now. Nico decided to go along with it though and shook his hand in return. "Nico di Angelo, nice to finally meet you Will." Okay maybe that had been the right route to go after all because the smile that took over Will's face was definitely worth the awkwardness just before. "Nice to finally meet you too Nico."

 **Not done yet! next we'll have some cute fluff because I love it so much so get ready for cute dates!**

 **I hope this is working out okay, I wasn't entirely sure where I was going with it but I feel like it's good, please let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The commotion caused by the wasp had drawn attention and Percy had come to investigate only to arrive in time to catch the exchange and see the marks shimmer on both boy's wrists. Nico only noticed his cousin's presence after and the reality that the two of them were simply standing behind the counter in the diner, a very pubic setting, came rushing back to him and he felt like melting away but knew he was stuck where he was.

"Nico! You did it! You found your soulmate!" Percy exclaimed happily rushing over to the two of them and flinging his arms around them in an awkward hug that was too tight for Nico to wriggle free from. "Oh my God wait till mom hears about this!"

Nico would be surprised if the entire state wasn't aware of it the way Percy was going on. "Percy I can't breathe let go." Nico said as he tried his best to pry the python like hold off of him.

Percy at least had the sense to look a bit sheepish as he let go of the two of them and stepped back, this time thankfully using at a normal volume when speaking to someone right beside you. "Sorry, but this is so great!" he then turned his attention to Will who still didn't really know what was going on. "Hey welcome to the family Will, I know we just met and all but I'm glad it's you who's meant for my younger cousin here." Percy said as he ruffled Nico's hair.

Nico pushed his hand away and tried to fix his hair while shooting a glare at him. "Really? Could you please not do this right now?" Why did he have to work here with this seaweed brain again?

"Oops sorry…" Percy finally calmed down and started to act serious as he turned back to Will. "So you said that you're allergic to wasps and bees?" he asked.

"I believe so… I had a really bad reaction when I was a kid and even if it wasn't there prior to the incident it's still possible to become dangerously allergic to bees and wasps after so many stings and I'm honestly just extremely traumatized and can't be near them."

Percy nodded his understanding; one good thing about Percy was how much he cared about others and their wellbeing. "We'll make a sign for the door letting people to not let it hang open, it's not unheard of for people to have that kind of allergy so it's better to be safe than sorry." With that he left the two of them and headed towards the back, likely to go to the office to type up and print off a sign for the door like he said.

"Well that went well; a lot of people just laugh and tell me not to be such a wuss over little bugs." Will said grabbing Nico's attention once more.

"That's stupid, if someone is worried about something like an allergy you should always take it seriously, those could be fatal in some cases and you can't take those kinds of risks." What kind of person brushed of something as serious as an allergy?

When Nico looked back at Will he saw something that may have been gratitude shining in his eyes.

"Honestly you'd be surprised how inconsiderate some people could be, especially if they themselves don't have that kind of reaction to something. It's like their ability to empathise is non-existent or something."

Nico could stand here all day talking about the stupidity of people but then he remembered that they were still at work and though he was finished, Will was still on the clock and he should really stop distracting him from doing his job. "I uh should let you get back to work now I guess… um what time are you off?"

Will seemed a little taken aback by the sudden change in topic but recovered quickly. "6:00."

"Well how about I come back and pick you up and we could go to dinner and get to know each other." Nico really hoped he was doing this right; he'd spent so much time trying to figure out the mystery behind the words of his mark that he never really put much thought into what came next.

"I'd like that," Will said with probably the brightest smile Nico has ever seen, "I'll see you this evening then."

Nico had to admit Will looked much better when he was calm and not worried about some death insect buzzing around.

"See you then." Nico smiled back and left to get his stuff from the staff room, he needed to go home and share the wonderful news with Hazel before he got ready for tonight.

…

Will had quite the emotional rollercoaster ride in just the past few hours, first he was excited about having a new job, then he was paranoid that one of those bugs from hell would find him, then one had and he freaked right out, then he found his soulmate who just happened to be the cute guy who saved him from said bug from hell, now he had a date and he felt like he was on cloud nine!

There was no way he could have known, that anyone could have ever have guessed that he'd meet his soulmate on the very first day of his new job. Even though thoughts about who could possibly be the one to say those words to him had been running through his head just before his shift he had never even thought of solving that mystery so soon.

Now he floated through the rest of the afternoon and into the evening wondering what his first date with his soulmate would be like, some people date others before finding their soulmate but Will had never had any interest in anyone he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life with and so had never really put much thought into what dating would be like, if you were destined to be together did dating even really matter? Well even if it didn't he still wanted to give it a try and see what it was like.

Percy had made signs for the door into the café and the one in the kitchen letting people know to keep them closed so no wasps or bees could get in on account of a serious allergy alert.

Like he had mentioned to Nico before, not many people tended to take him seriously when it came to that so it made him so happy to see someone actually putting the effort in.

Will had met with Sally part way into his shift and they had talked during his break, she had assured him that the safety and wellbeing of customers and staff alike was very important and that he could come to her or Percy anytime he needed to.

Aside from Percy, Sally, and Nico, Will had also met some of the other staff and found that they were really a friendly bunch and made the work team feel more like a happy family than just a bunch of people that worked together.

He kept thinking to himself how he had really lucked out when he had taken this job. The best and most unexpected part being getting the chance to meet Nico.

Will looked up at the clock as he finished sweeping behind the counter and saw that there was only five minutes left until he was done for the day, meaning there wasn't that much time left before Nico came back for their date!

Wil hoped he looked alright; he'd just be getting off work so he wouldn't have the chance to go home and change but then again part of him really didn't care because this was actually happening!

When he was finished putting the broom and dustpan away he had enough time to make sure that the napkin holders next him were stocked up before he went to clock out for the day.

The supper crowd was coming in already but the others had things covered so he made his way back to the staff room and grabbed his things and made sure to stop at the bathroom to check his reflection in the mirror, running his hand through his hair trying to comb it out a bit as best he could.

This was it!

When he got back to the front of the café he saw Nico sitting on a stool at the counter talking with one of the cashiers. Will felt his heart flutter when Nico looked up and waved to him.

When Will drew closer Nico smiled. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." Will answered with a smile of his own.

 **Sorry for the wait there guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **I'm booked till the middle of July at least for work so I have no idea how long it will take me to update anything but thank you so much for sticking with me!**

 **Please let me know what you think!**


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